Comments | byslantedlight: Definitions of Britpicking...

byslantedlight

Definitions of Britpicking...

Aug 20, 2009 07:35

Ohmigawd, I have just seen the following sentence in someone's lj...

I did my own Britpicking (with the help of Thingie who is also not British)

To be fair, they didn't do a bad job (way better than alot I've seen), but... what is this definition of Britpicking that you can do it yourself? Isn't that actually just trying your best and not ( Read more... )

writing talk

Comments 20

msmoat August 20 2009, 11:55:11 UTC

Just to be contrary, I suppose it is possible to mean by "Britcheck" that you consult the appropriate dictionaries and idiom-finders, do the research, etc. It is possible. It's just a whole heck of a lot harder than simply finding a native speaker. *g*

Mind you, you get two Brits doing the Britcheck and you can expect disagreements....

byslantedlight August 20 2009, 12:01:08 UTC

Well that clearly is what they meant by it - which is why I was questioning the definition of "Britpick/check", because that's not what I think of automatically - and I'm not assuming that my automatic is the right one... *g*

Mind you, you get two Brits doing the Britcheck and you can expect disagreements....
Yeah, but not about some things. Like serving coffee with cream and sugar as a regular thing, or with creamer as a regular thing, or expecting doughnuts or "pastries" from the bakery for breakfast as the norm, or thinking that Cancun is a cheap and convenient holiday destination, or that you have a specific number of "sick days" allocated to you each year, or... *g* Not about some things... *g*

inamac August 20 2009, 14:14:48 UTC

There are a few 'Britpick' resources available that'll check idioms and the more obvious Americanisms (gotten/sidewalk/nightstand...) so suppose that anyone using those might be said to have done their own 'Britpick' - but on the whole i's usually better to have a Brit look at it.

I vividly remember the 9competition winning0 fanstory printed in one of the pros annuals which began with the notorious ine;

The cat crossed the sidewalk to the produce store.

*fail*

byslantedlight August 20 2009, 15:36:30 UTC

The cat crossed the sidewalk to the produce store.
Heeeeeee! Swinging her fanny as she came to the end of the block, no doubt... *g*

I've just never thought of a non-Brit check as a Brit-check before, it completely threw me that she described it that way! It was actually a good story, too... *vbg*

empty_mirrors August 20 2009, 18:59:32 UTC

Well, if they don't need a Brit for a Britpick, you can Ameri-pick my SGA fics. ::beams:: Sorted, gov'ner!

Not that I'd really inflict them on you, 'cause I ain't mean like that. Plus you wouldn't have a clue what's going on. ::bg::

byslantedlight August 20 2009, 19:17:00 UTC

Hee - having lived there for long enough to pay resident taxes if I ever set foot in the place again (six years+!) I'd still be hesitant... *g* SGA though... um... as you say, not a clue about what's going on!

You could inflict some paint-y Pros on me though... *g*

empty_mirrors August 20 2009, 19:42:09 UTC

You could inflict some paint-y Pros on me thoughI'd love to but, jesus things are frantic atm. Just to add to all the crap, Mum's broken her wrist in a fall (she's 81, it happens). I spent 3 hours with her in casualty yesterday and in the end they put a half cast (back slab) on her wrist because of the swelling and made an appointment at the fracture clinic for next wednesday. So I dropped her back off at the respite centre, went back to their house to keep clearing and I was just leaving there at about 6pm to go home, when the centre called to say that she managed to get the cast off! So I had to go back to casualty - another 3 hour jobbie, and they had to call the plaster technician in from home - but this time they put her in a full, soft cast, with a solid support up the back and the tech reckons she won't get out of it. Which, so far, she hasn't. The trouble was, I didn't get her back until 10pm, and so she didn't get much sleep. Plus she was in pain, so this morning at 9:30 I get a call to say, she won't take her tablets, eat ( ... )

byslantedlight August 20 2009, 20:11:17 UTC

Ah mate, that sucks... I remember when I was in hospital with my leg (happily not without it...) one of the old ladies managed to get out of her plaster cast - they just couldn't keep her in it. They are awful things, and without that rational understanding of why you have to put up with them... Poor your mum - and you all... It must be really hard, but at least she has got you...